“We have a potential deal in place with one team that has to do something with another player that they have — and it’s not who anybody thinks it is — and so we have to wait. (But) we’ve been offered packages that don’t fit what our plan is, what we need," Gillis said.

He apparently didn't cough, "Maple Leafs," under his breath after that last sentence.

“Excess salary coming back with a (throw-in) player who can’t play in our lineup. They say, ‘OK, we’ll do this, but you’ve got to take this.’ Well, we’re not taking it. We’ve had lots of proposals like that with good pieces that can help us but the other part doesn’t help us, and oftentimes they have term attached to them, so we’d just be turning around and buying out a guy."

If you subscribe to the theory that Gillis is doing some media negotiating, it's relevant that Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reported Tuesday morning that the theoretical mystery team is not the Maple Leafs, who have long been seen as the frontrunner to acquire Luongo, a 33-year-old former All-Star who took his team to within one win of a Stanley Cup in 2011.

The situation is reaching critical mass—Luongo vs. Schneider is always going to be a topic of discussion, and the Canucks badly need a second-line forward because of injuries to Ryan Kesler and David Booth.